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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. track — a song
  4. ball — a great time
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bound — certain
  8. rest — what's left
  9. track — a path
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bound — obliged
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ground — crushed
  18. rest — a break
  19. bound — tied together
  20. degree — temperature
  21. track — to keep track
  22. rest — what's left
  23. snap — to click
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com